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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686616">until the sky collapses on me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/burymeonpluto/pseuds/burymeonpluto'>burymeonpluto</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Gods, Legends &amp; Origins of Canon Things, M/M, Mythical Beings &amp; Creatures, Past Lives, Pre-Canon, Reincarnation, Star-crossed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:41:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/burymeonpluto/pseuds/burymeonpluto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Legends are only written for gods who die with fanfare.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>until the sky collapses on me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/><br/><br/><br/>Sunrise and sunset are best seen from a clear horizon. Over the line where the sea meets the sky. Plenty of worlds have oceans, but there’s something about this one. Riku likes the cool morning air just before dawn—this world is not particularly humid and overwhelming—and the shore is usually vacant. It’s too rough and rocky for the townspeople to bother with it. Especially for something as silly as watching the sunrise.<br/><br/>Well, Riku shrugs to himself, he was watching the sunrise long before the town even existed. The solitude is nothing new. He was born with the Light, treading the edge of all the worlds, yet existing outside of them. Within his chest is the embodiment of that Light, pure and unyielding like the morning sun.<br/><br/>The others call themselves Celestials. They say he’s one of them—but even that feels untrue.<br/><br/>Riku wanders down the coast like a meandering stream. Purity and Light and Darkness… he doesn’t understand. All he knows is existing.<br/><br/>Sunrise isn’t far off. He should find a spot to sit. He works his way down the shore, over rocks and tide pools, searching for something.<br/><br/>“Watch out!”<br/><br/>“Hm?” Riku looks up. A body is hurtling towards him, and he instinctively holds out his arms to catch them. He doesn’t know why. He just <em>moves</em>. The person crashes into him, and Riku can barely hold them upright as his shoes slide along the sand and loose rocks of the shoreline.<br/><br/>The person—a boy, Riku realizes—safely plants his feet on the rocks and pops back up. His wild brown hair has been streaked gold by the sun, and he looks up at Riku with blue eyes that glitter like the sea.“Hey! Thanks! Are you okay?”<br/><br/>“Yeah…”<br/><br/>He laughs—bright and nervous—and pulls his arms behind his head. His boyish face is dotted with freckles. “Sorry about that. I kind of slipped…”<br/><br/>Riku glances up to where the boy fell from, and finds nothing but a sheer, rocky cliff face. “No kidding.”<br/><br/>“I didn’t expect anyone to be here!” he protests. “Not a lot of people hang out around this part of the beach. Especially not this early. ‘Cause it’s not as pretty, I guess…”<br/><br/>“This is the best place to watch the sunrise,” Riku says, unsure why he even bothers explaining himself. This boy’s warm smile seems to drag the words out of him like a moth to a flame.<br/><br/>He leans forward in surprise, standing on his toes to see Riku’s face better. “You think so too!?” Then he realizes what he’s doing, falls back onto his heels, and stumbles over his words: “Oh! Uh… My name’s Sora. What’s yours?”<br/><br/>“Riku,” he answers immediately.<br/><br/>“It’s nice to meet you!” he grins. “You’re here to watch the sunrise?”<br/><br/>“I am.”<br/><br/>“Huh, I guess the secret place isn’t so secret, after all…”<br/><br/>Riku tilts his head. “What do you mean?”<br/><br/>“Oh! So you haven’t seen it?” That smile turns smug. He leers at Riku with a sly glint in his eyes. “It’s only the <em>best</em> place to watch the sunrise.”<br/><br/>Riku crosses his arms, returning that smirk. “You think so, huh?”<br/><br/>“I know so. C’mon.” Sora snatches his wrist and pulls him forward, not even thinking. “You gotta see it!”<br/><br/>Riku lets Sora drag him down the beach, not thinking either. No one’s ever spoken so candidly to him like this before.<br/><br/>“It’s the least I can do. Since you saved me.”<br/><br/>Farther down the shore, hidden among the rocks, is a cave. It’s been drilled into the cliffs by the ocean waves. Riku has never noticed it before. He hasn’t walked this far down the shore in a long time. Maybe the cave formed recently?<br/><br/>How long ago is recently?<br/><br/>“This is it,” Sora speaks low, as if someone could overhear them. But there’s no one around. They’re completely alone. He tugs on Riku’s wrist again, leading him inside the cave. “We should hurry, or we’ll miss it.”<br/><br/>The mouth of the cave is littered with strangely-shaped and uneven rocks. Some are clear like crystals. They follow a stream inside, where it curves and pools into calmer waters. Sora directs Riku to the far side of the pool, and gestures for him to sit.<br/><br/>Riku follows directions, but he’s still unsure. “So, this is it?”<br/><br/>He settles onto the rocks next to Riku. “I love watching the sunrise from here.”<br/><br/>From inside a cave? “But you can’t even see it.”<br/><br/>Sora smiles, and it illuminates Riku’s chest like the sun never could. “Just watch.”<br/><br/>It takes another minute for the day to finally break. The sun peeks over the horizon—at least, Riku is sure it does. He can’t actually see it from here, he can only watch the shafts of light stream through the entrance of the cave. Sora’s hands tighten over his knees, and the cave comes alive.<br/><br/>Riku has always watched the sunrise head-on, with no obstructions to its pure white light. But from here, on the edge of the shadows, the gemstones lining the cave walls break the light apart into beautiful stripes of color. The light shimmers in colorful ripples along the surface of the water, and bounces through the crystals in all directions, until the interior of the cave is glowing.<br/><br/>After all this time, Riku has never seen the Light look like this. It’s never been this breathtaking. Is this how those in the Darkness feel? Overwhelmed and dazzled by the brilliance of the Light?<br/><br/>“I could stare at this forever,” Sora sighs from beside him, and drags Riku’s attention away from the mouth of the cave. Riku can see his soft smile within the dissipated light. It’s as warm as the sun itself. His eyes burn bright like the midday sky.<br/><br/>“Yeah,” Riku says. “Me too.”<br/><br/>Sora hums a laugh, grinning so hard his eyes squint closed. “Told ya.”<br/><br/>What is it about this boy’s Light that takes his breath away? He’s just like the gems lining the cave, twisting the Light into something beautiful and unrecognizable. Riku could stay and watch him, pulling apart the Light and rearranging it like threads on a loom. He’s finally found something worth searching for.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Hold fast to the Light, for the Darkness never rests. If you are not vigilant, it shall consume you.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p><br/>Riku ventures into town more often than he ever has before. He stands by Sora’s side, chatting with him as he goes about his day; or watching him from a distance, gathering fruits and ingredients for baking with the brightest smile Riku has ever seen. Sora always knows he’s there. Riku doesn’t know <em>how</em> he knows, but he has an uncanny ability to turn, spot Riku, and wave as if he was expecting him.<br/><br/>To repay Sora for showing him the secret cave, Riku takes him up to the highest peak outside the town. It’s a secluded overlook surrounded by trees. The best place to see the stars. Countless dots of Light and dust.<br/><br/>Sora lays down in the cool grass, breathlessly watching the sky. “It’s incredible…”<br/><br/>Riku sits beside him. “Told ya,” he mimics.<br/><br/>Sora just laughs and props up onto his elbows. “I meant to ask you: I’d never seen you in town before the other morning. Are you not from around here?”<br/><br/>“You could say that,” Riku allows. “I’m not really from anywhere.”<br/><br/>“That’s weird,” Sora shrugs.<br/><br/>His gaze turns back to the sky. “Maybe it’s out there somewhere… but it’s been so long, I can’t remember.”<br/><br/>“Out with the stars?”<br/><br/>“Yeah.”<br/><br/>Sora stays quiet. He crawls over to Riku, eyes searching his face all over, looking for something. The silence goes on for a long time. “Your eyes are so bright.”<br/><br/>Riku chokes on his breath. “Wh-what?”<br/><br/>“You’re like the dawn. I can’t…” then his mouth clicks shut. His eyes dart to the ground.<br/><br/>But he can’t just stop there. Riku has to know. He watches Sora bite his lip and he <em>has to know</em>. “You can’t… what?”<br/><br/>Sora carefully swallows the buildup in his mouth. “I can’t look away from you,” he whispers. “It’s like you’re not real.”<br/><br/>On the other side of the veil, Riku finishes. “I’m real.”<br/><br/>“But you’re not like me, right?”<br/><br/>So he’s figured it out already. Riku feels his chest constrict for the first time. Anxiety… worry… Things that shouldn’t exist within the Light. He shoves them back down. “I’m… I’m not.”<br/><br/>His eyes meet Riku’s once again. They’re gleaming in awe. “Riku… who are you?”<br/><br/>He doesn’t know. He’s never known. All he does is exist and orbit around Sora because he has nothing else he <em>wants</em>. “I’m me,” he decides. “Just me.”<br/><br/>“The dawn,” Sora murmurs again, mostly to himself. He studies Riku’s face in wonder. “That’s awesome.” It isn’t. “What’s it like? Out with the stars?”<br/><br/>“It’s… kind of cold, actually. Between the worlds, there’s nothing but Darkness.”<br/><br/>Sora tilts his head and hums. “The worlds?”<br/><br/>“Every star out there is its own world,” Riku points.<br/><br/>Sora’s mouth drops open, eyes shimmering up at the night sky. “Every single one?”<br/><br/>“Every last speck.”<br/><br/>“That’s amazing,” he whispers.<br/><br/>Riku has marveled at the sky for a fathomless amount of time, but now he can’t take his eyes off Sora—as fascinated with the boy as he is his namesake. “Each world has its own creatures and people; and things you can’t see anywhere else. Oceans of sand… mountains that breathe fire… fields of ice and snow…”<br/><br/>“That’s so cool! Do people know about this?”<br/><br/>“Not really.” He leans back onto his hands. “There’s no reason for them to know of other worlds, since they can’t travel between them. The pathways to get there are too dangerous.”<br/><br/>Sora’s shoulders drop a bit. “Huh, that’s too bad… But maybe one day.”<br/><br/>“What do you mean?”<br/><br/>“People are pretty amazing, ya know. I’m sure we’ll be able to cross between the worlds one day. Just watch!”<br/><br/>That unbreakable confidence is something else. Riku can only chuckle. “If you say so.”<br/><br/>“Yeah. We’ll go to different worlds and stand right next to you. You’ll see.”<br/><br/>Riku hopes so. He truly does. Let the future come and show him that reality already!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Those creatures are riddled with Darkness. Poor things… They know no other way. Don’t waste your time with them.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riku carefully pulls the flower from his pocket. It’s a large, bright thing with yellow petals like sunbeams. There’s nothing else like it in this world.<br/><br/>He finds Sora on his way to the orchards, basket ready for whatever is in season. Is it apples? Riku can’t remember. He steps out onto the shady path in front of Sora, who smiles at him like an old friend.<br/><br/>“There you are,” he says, as if <em>he</em> was the one looking for <em>Riku</em>.<br/><br/>Riku can’t wait to see the look on his face. He presents the bright yellow flower. “Here.”<br/><br/>Sora delicately takes it into his fingers. “What is this?”<br/><br/>“Hold on to it. It’s from another world.”<br/><br/>He pulls the flower closer. “Huh!?”<br/><br/>“I brought it for you. You should keep it.”<br/><br/>“It’s—it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he babbles. “But how… am I supposed to preserve something like this?”<br/><br/>“I don’t know,” Riku shrugs. He didn’t think that far. “Press it?”<br/><br/>Sora snaps his fingers. “That’s a good idea! I’ll go do that right now!”<br/><br/>“You don’t have to do it <em>now</em>,” he chuckles.<br/><br/>“I just don’t want it to wither away. I want to keep it forever.”<br/><br/>Forever. What a word. Riku is unsure if Sora is capable of understanding such a thing. “There’s still time to preserve it. You don’t have to rush.”<br/><br/>He lets his fingertips brush the edges of the flower petals. Their bright yellow color reflects off Sora’s face. “It looks like the sun.”<br/><br/>“I thought so, too.”<br/><br/>Sora grins at that. “The world this flower came from…” he holds it up towards the sky, and it catches the sunlight, “I bet it’s beautiful.”<br/><br/>Riku can’t find his voice in the face of that soft smile. If only he could actually show Sora everything. What he wouldn’t give to take him there.<br/><br/>Sora turns back to him, swathed in golden light. “Thank you.”<br/><br/>Forever. Riku could watch him forever. “You’re welcome.”<br/><br/>He tries to tuck the flower behind his ear, but the blossom is too big. It droops down into his face. Riku laughs, carefully pulling the flower free and sticking it into Sora’s hair instead. Those sea-swept locks are thick with salt, and effortlessly hold the heavy blossom. His hands linger around Sora’s face, so warm he’s almost glowing.<br/><br/>And Riku wonders what else he can do. What else can he bring to elicit that smile again? It’s not like he has anything else to do. Riku finds himself on other worlds more often, exploring and looking for something that Sora might find interesting. The scale of a dragon, a gold coin from a far-off kingdom, a lump of rock sugar wrapped in paper from a bizarre, dark world. Sora accepts and keeps them all. He has the dragon scale as a keepsake in his room; eats the sugar ball and spends days in his bakery trying to replicate it; and hangs the coin from a chain around his neck. His smile and his excitement bleed over into Riku and light his chest on fire. <br/><br/>Riku eventually comes across a tiny world that consists of nothing but a warm, teal sea dotted with islands. The beaches are soft and vacant and covered in colorful sea shells. He’s sure the dawn, sunset, and stars are beautiful from here. He takes a shell from the sand, and returns to the rocky shore. He zips through the lanes between, using his Light as a shield from the unending shadows. Lately, he’s noticed new shades within the Darkness. Violets and blues and reds… Have they always existed there, just outside his field of vision? He bets someone like Sora already knew that.<br/><br/>He waits for Sora at the highest peak. Their favorite stargazing spot. Sora appears not long after sunset, toting a bag that’s probably filled with fruity sweets he’s baked.<br/><br/>“Sorry I’m late!” They never planned on a time. They didn’t even plan to meet tonight. Riku had just climbed to the top, hoping Sora would show.<br/><br/>And now that he’s here, Riku can’t wait. He instantly takes Sora’s hand and deposits the shell into it. It’s a blush pink color and twists around itself like an unraveling ribbon.<br/><br/>Sora runs his fingers over its odd shape. “This is…?”<br/><br/>“From the sea of another world.”<br/><br/>Sora clutches the shell against his chest. His smile could blind even the stars. “Another sea…”<br/><br/>“The entire beach was covered in shells.”<br/><br/>“It sounds so beautiful,” Sora breathes. “I wish I could see it too.”<br/><br/>“I’ll take you there,” Riku blurts without thinking. He doesn’t know how, or when, but he’s never wanted anything more. He wants it so badly it’s <em>aching</em>. “We’ll see it together.”</p>
<p>Sora steps towards him, so close they almost touch. “Really!?”<br/><br/>“Definitely.” He can’t stop himself. His thumb gently grazes Sora’s cheek, still warm with slight sunburn.<br/><br/>But Sora doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t step away, either. “Someone like me?”<br/><br/>“Who else could it be?”<br/><br/>“But you said it was too dangerous.”<br/><br/>“I’ll find a way,” he declares. “I promise.”<br/><br/>Sora’s hand reaches for his, warm fingers threading through his own and sending a shock through his heart. “You’re sure?”<br/><br/>“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Something is wrong.”</em><br/><br/><em>“You’ve strayed too far.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>What are They talking about?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Go any farther, and there will be no saving you.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riku’s hands turn to fists. “What do you mean?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>The Light cannot </em><em><b>want</b></em><em>. Desire begets Darkness. </em><em>Above all else, </em><em>Darkness heralds the end of the Light.”<br/><br/>“Within desire there is jealousy. Anger. Despair. These cannot exist within the Light. It must remain pure.”<br/><br/>“Especially a desire for one so… unclean.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>That one insult—the <em>insinuation</em> that Sora is anything but the peak of perfection because of his <em>origins, </em> or his <em>coexistence with </em> <em>D</em> <em>arkness—</em>is the true slap to Riku’s face. “There’s more to Light than purity, just as there’s more to Darkness. What are you all so afraid of?!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Oh, Light. Your hubris shall doom everything you hold dear.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll protect them,” he declares. “I’ll do it with my own power. I’ll even embrace the Darkness if I must!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>You are a fool!”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There <em>is</em> no black and white. I don’t want to live in such a world anymore. Not when I know there’s so much more. There are colors to Light and Darkness like I’ve never seen. Different shades like you’ve never even dreamed of! You’ll see! I’ll make you see!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Love has blinded you!”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Love? Riku scoffs. He slowly unclenches his fists and finds his nails have carved deep marks into his palms. “Is that what this is?” he muses, and splays a hand over his chest. “If it is, it’s the strongest Light I’ve ever known.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>The boy is temporary. You will only be met with despair.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know that,” he spits like he can’t say the words fast enough. “I know, but—I don’t care. I’ve seen the true nature of Light. I won’t let you distort it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Your desire shall be purged.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s such a final statement. It fills Riku with a dread he’s never felt before. The cosmos themselves are bearing down on him and Sora. He doesn’t know what to do, but it has to be something.<br/><br/>He dives back into the world, where a great storm is already tearing the place asunder. The sea swells and fills the streets, sweeping away entire structures. Large bolts of lightning strike the ground and set buildings aflame. The wind carries away anything that isn’t held down.<br/><br/>To the townspeople, it’s nothing but a fierce storm, but Riku sees it—the Darkness that has been unleashed upon this world. The swirling shadows that black out the sky. Screams of terror and confusion reach his ears. This is all his fault.<br/><br/><em>Sora. Where is Sora?</em> <br/><br/>Riku knows. He takes off at an inhuman speed, all pretenses lost. Sora’s bakery is near the center of the town, where the fire is concentrated. He gets there in the blink of an eye, but the building is already blazing. Sora stands nearby, ushering other townspeople along, trying to save what he can. Riku can feel the other Celestials looming over his shoulders. They won’t let him have this, but T hey’ll have to fight to take it from him.<br/><br/>“Sora!” Riku shouts over the storm.<br/><br/>Sora finds him , and his face floods with relief. “Riku!”<br/><br/>The wind picks up. T he fire burns hotter. A sharp Darkness cuts through the air alongside the storm. Faster than even Riku can react. <br/><br/>Sora is struc k , and black despair is born in Riku’s heart. It lays thick and gooey in the pit of his stomach. H e jets forward a second too late. His arms keep Sora from the ground . The Light—Sora’s light—is fading. Riku’s radiance is tinged with violet. Fear and grief the color of Darkness.<br/><br/>“R… Riku…?” <br/><br/>They have to get out.<br/><br/><em>Get out. Get out no matter what</em>.</p>
<p>Wings bloom from Riku’s back, and he takes off to the sky, aiming for any world that will take them. Anywhere. Somehow.<br/><br/>The lanes between the worlds are rife with shadows. But he promised. He told Sora he’d show him all the worlds the universe had to offer. Down to every last speck. He holds Sora close as they dive farther and farther, wings of Light shielding them from the Darkness.<br/><br/>The Dark begins to eat away at them. Tendrils take root in the dark spots of his despair, breaking off pieces of Light and swallowing them whole. Tears leave trails of stardust along his face. Sora grows weaker in his arms. Riku feels his very self being devoured by the storm. But he promised.<br/><br/>His heart pulls him forward—the last bastion of Light. Any shelter will do. No matter how small. They just have to make it.<br/><br/>By the time they breach the sky, Riku no longer has any control. His wings are broken and black. All of their Light has been eaten. They reach this remote speck of a world with his last ounce of strength, and crash-land on the edge of a beautiful, endless sea. The sand is soft and perfect and white. Darkness eats at Riku’s skin like acid.<br/><br/>Sora gazes up at him, eyes barely open and fading fast. “Where… are we?”<br/><br/>Riku swallows back the bile of despair. He tries to smile. “Another world.”<br/><br/>Sora leans his head back onto the sand. “It’s warm…”<br/><br/>“It’s beautiful,” he guesses. He can’t take his eyes off Sora. His slowing breath. His shriveling Light.<br/><br/>Sora’s grip is weak around Riku’s arms. “Are you hurt?”<br/><br/>More than he’s ever hurt before. “I’m alright.”<br/><br/>“But the Darkness…”<br/><br/>“I can beat it.” He’s being eaten alive.<br/><br/>“Riku…” he trails off like he can see Riku fading as well.<br/><br/>“Come on,” he pushes. “You have to see this place. Don’t sleep yet.” <em>Or you’ll never wake again</em>.<br/><br/>“I’m sorry,” he suddenly says, voice cracking like thin glass. “I’m sorry for not being good enough. I can’t help you, or do anything without you. I’m sorry for being so worthless.”<br/><br/>Riku’s hand finds his cheek. They’re both growing colder, despite the warmth of the sand. Is this truly it? “Sora, you’re not worthless. You’re the most beautiful Light I’ve ever seen. You change everyone you meet for the better. I’ve been dazzled by you from the moment I first saw you.”<br/><br/>Tears leave thick lines down Sora’s face. “Someone like you?”<br/><br/>“I’m the one who should be sorry. I couldn’t protect you. It’s my fault you’re…” No, he can’t say it. For the very first time, he curses Sora’s mortality. He bemoans an endless existence without Sora. Oh, if the Light could perish here as well. Let it die alongside his love, for what’s the point of Light without it? Grief worms its way into his heart, shadows staining the unending Light. He’d give Sora all of it if he could. Comet tail tears fall onto Sora’s face. “Don’t leave me.”<br/><br/>Sora pulls him down, until their foreheads press together. “It’s alright. Even if we’re apart, we’re never alone. Our hearts will always be connected, no matter the distance. No matter the time…”<br/><br/>“Sora,” Riku chokes.<br/><br/>His eyes are closed. His smile is soft. “Let’s meet again, okay? In the next life… I’ll be better.”<br/><br/>Another life does not erase this one. It doesn’t soothe the ache. The gaping black hole in Riku’s chest where Sora’s Light used to burn like a beacon. “I promise—no… this time, I’ll swear it as an oath: A day will come when I’m strong enough to save you. I’ll make sure of it.” Sora’s dwindling life is too much for him to bear. Riku’s own heart shatters beneath its weight. His tears drip into Sora’s empty eyes, glittering Light embellished with the Darkness of his grief. He won’t let it go. This Darkness is his own. The proof of everything he loved and believed in.<br/><br/>Their broken hearts fall together, and they perish as one.<br/><br/>The Light, their love, and their oath entwine destiny into a knot. The very shards of their hearts melt into the fertile coast, spurred by the warmth of the sun, until they sprout. A tree grows without care or direction in the gentle, salty breeze.<br/><br/>In time, they will meet once again, and sit beneath the shade of that love. Atop the roots of an unbreakable oath that only their hearts remember. They’ll lounge within the unmoving embrace of its branches, and marvel at the star-shaped fruit blossoming at the peak.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>And still, the Light weeps, for he has failed once again to save the one who matters most.</p>
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<p>“<em>The Light fled when Darkness fell upon the worlds. You must do all you can to push back the shadows. Only then will you be worthy of the Light.”</em></p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let’s end with a good dose of historical revisionism, hm? </p>
<p>This idea has been sitting in my notes since like July, so it was only a matter of time. Like KH3 vanilla, ReMind punched me in the stomach until I threw up some words. Bittersweet and experimental as they are. Oh—the title is from ‘Glasshouse’ by Hands Like Houses and if you know me even a /little bit/ then this fact is utterly unsurprising.</p>
<p>Uh… what do I say about this? soriku endgame? Yeah.</p>
<p>(@VaniVeniVici)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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